The end is near...

Hi everyone!

 

My university exchange at UBC, Vancouver is coming to an end.

 

I have so much to tell you about my weekend trip to Whitehorse, Yukon, and my last two weeks here. Unfortunately, I won't have time to blog about this. I still have to study for my very last final exam on Wednesday, and I want to spend as much time with my loved ones here while I still can. I hope you all understand. I've had the time of my life here, and I don't want it to end.

 

On the 19th I'll be leaving Vancouver and flying to the U.S. where I'll be starting my Contiki trip in New Orleans. From there, I'm travelling to Memphis, Dallas, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Cortez, Durango, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. I'll be spending Christmas in Texas, and New Years Eve in Vegas! On the 3rd of January I'll be leaving L.A. and flying to Toronto, where I get to see my beautiful family again. We'll be spending some time in Toronto before travelling around Mont Tremblant, Montreal, and Quebec City. I will be home on the 25th of January, right in time for Australia Day!

 

Once I'm home I will blog all about my travels around the U.S. and Eastern Canada.

 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

I love you all so much and I can't wait to see you soon!!

 

Love,
Emily

Whistler, baby!

Hey everyone!

 

So Friday was my last day of Canadian classes. Most of them were just spent going over what is in the final exams. I got 74% in my Crime and Society essay :) At the end of the day I wasn't expecting how sad I would feel to finish my classes here at UBC. I know back home I would be really happy to finish classes, but here it's the beginning of the end :(

 

In happier news, I spent the weekend in Whistler on a trip with UBC's Exchange Student Club. There was about 60 of us all up. We left on Friday afternoon and the bus arrived at our hostel at about 7:30 that night. Our hostel was really nice! It was only built in 2010, and for the Winter Olympians. The only problem was that it was a 20 minute bus ride from Whistler Village. I roomed with Rikki, Sally and Patrick.

 

That night we ate in the hostel's cafe, before being put into teams and doing team bonding games! Most of them were drinking games, so I wasn't really having a good time. There were also games where the teams had to verse each other in passing a mango, a cucumber, and a penny to each other without using your hands down the line of team members the fastest. Those games were very... interesting. Afterwards a bunch of us went outside the hostel for a snowball fight which was pretty fun until you get hit with an icy snowball in the boob. Ouch.

 



 

 

On Saturday we all woke up early and got ready for a day on the slopes! This was the view out our window on Saturday morning.

 

 

A few of us who had professional lessons booked caught the bus into the village to collect our lesson vouchers. We then met up with everyone else and collected our ski tickets and rental equipment. I had booked a full day level one skiing lesson, and so had my friend Alejandro, who is on exchange from Mexico. We went together so we were put into the same lesson. We were with a young couple from Vancouver, and our instructor's name was Dominique and he was from Montreal. He was really nice and liked cracking lots of jokes.

 

 

We took the gondola up then learn all about our skiing equipment before starting. At first I didn't like it because I wasn't getting it straight away. I'm a perfectionist, so it was frustrating me, but I slowly started getting the hang of it and started enjoying it. It was snowing the whole time we were there. I had never actually seen snow falling from the sky before. It was amazing and I looked up, stuck my tongue out, and ate some :) We did little slopes, learning to stop and turn. We then went on the "magic carpet" conveyor belt and got off and did the beginner slope a few times which was fun. Dominique then took us down a little but steeper slope to get to the gondola. I did it twice during the day but I always lost control and went too fast. We all caught the gondola to the top of Whistler mountain and had a break for lunch. I had definitely worked up an appetite by then!

 

 

 

 



After lunch we got the gondola back down and did the magic carpet a few more times. We even did it once without our ski poles. I was nervous about that but it was fine! We got the gondola back down to the base of the mountain at the end of our lesson. We were able to put our skis and poles in free storage which was great, and I bought myself a touristy Whistler shirt :) I met up with some other exchange students and we went to a cafe and had delicious hot chocolates, which was what I was craving! I was also craving a bubble bath, but that wasn't likely to happen. I was so proud that I didn't fall down at all that day, despite running into a couple of people haha! I didn't knock them over or anything though! We all then went to the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant for our free dinner provided by the Exchange Student Club. It was good meeting and hanging out with more exchange students. Everyone went out that night but I was so tired and sore so I just stayed in and had an early night. Here's some photos of the village at night in the snow!

 



 

This was the view out our window on Sunday, so much snow fell overnight!

 



Here are some photos of the snow around our hostel

 





 

On Sunday I went into the village with Hayley and Sally to do some touristy exploring. The village is gorgeous with all the snow around. I bought some postcards and a shirt for Dad. We were carrying around our ski boots and helmets so it was hard to shop.

 

 

We got our skis and poles out of storage, then caught the gondola up to ski the baby slopes a few times together. We caught the gondola up to the top of the mountain to have lunch, and I met up with Philippa and Rikki, who also had half day lessons booked. We caught the gondola all the way to the base of the mountain to join our lesson. My instructor's name was Marcel and he was from Switzerland. He was quite old but really nice. I was with a couple from Conneticut. We did the magic carpet slope a few times and he helped me to do my turns better. The weather was gorgeous at the beginning of the day.

 



 

Then I graduated from the baby slopes as Marcel took us on the chairlift up to do the Olympic Chair run. The couple went on the chairlift and Marcel and I went on the next one. I have to admit I was nervous to do this run, even though it's meant to be easy! When you got off the chairlift, the slope was really steep and it wasn't meant to be like that. Everyone was falling. Lucky I was with Marcel because he linked arms with me and kept me upright. Then we all did the run! It was pretty fun, but some parts were what I would consider steep and were a bit scary. But I'm so glad that I did it. At one steep part I was going too fast and losing control so I had to fall over into deep snow! My first and only fall of the weekend! Woo! My skis were buried in snow so I had to take them off in order to get up, and then put them back on and finish the run.

 

 

We were heading to the gondola and there was a steep hill. Marcel told the others to just take off their skis and walk down, but he was going to give me a free run. I had to hold both my ski poles horizontally at my tummy, then he stood behind me and put his pole handles on the ends of my poles, and held onto his poles. That way he could ski right behind me and control my speed. We went down and it was a lot of fun. We got the gondola down and the lesson was over!

 

I returned all my equipment and then met up with the others. We went for hot chocolate and tried Beavertails! They are a warm flat kind of pastry that they put different toppings on. I shared a chocolate hazelnut one with Jess and it was soo good!!

 

 

A few of us then looked around in the shops. I got a Whistler sweater. It's so soft and amazing :) We went to the grocery store and got some food for dinner. We then caught the bus back to the hostel and got our bags out of storage because we had already checked out in the monring. We got changed and then heated up our dinner before catching the bus back to UBC. Everyone was so exhausted from the weekend that they just slept on the bus. Despite feeling so tired and sore for the next couple of days after, I had an amazing weekend in Whistler. But it feels like I didn't spend enough time there to really get the feel for the town! I'd love to go back one day.

 

I've spent the past three days studying for my final exams. Last night Clara, Abby, Marie and I went free food hunting as a break from studying. We had hot chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, and pancakes as our dinner, all for free! It was a fun, and random adventure. I had my first two exams tomorrow, and I don't finish til 9pm! I really should be studying right now, but oh well ;)

 

On Friday I'm leaving with Sally for our weekend in Whitehorse, Yukon! We're so excited and cannot wait! But apparently the weather on Friday will be a low of -26 degrees! Pretty sure I'm going to freeze to death guys!!

 

I can't believe I only have exactly two weeks left at UBC. I never want it to end :(

 

I love and miss you all so much!

 

Love,

Emily



Volleyball, Winter Formal, Ziplining, and the Last Week of Classes

Hi everyone! How are you all?

 

Last week I attempted to send a huge box of stuff home. It only weighed 10kg, but it was an awkward size. I wanted to send it via surface mail, so it would be less expensive, and I don't care how long it takes. My suitcase for Contiki has to be under 20kg, so I have to get rid of some stuff before I leave here! Unfortunately once we got there, they said that the box was too large to send via surface mail. My only option was to send it via priority air mail, which would have cost me $480!!! That's insane! Kurtis carried it all the way there and back for me, and I felt so bad. I had to put it all into smaller boxes from Canada Post. Clara is awesome at packing and managed to get it into 2 boxes. Only one was completely full so I decided to send it this week. It was 7kg and I carried it all by myself to the post office. I got to send it via surface mail, so Nan and Pop, expect a delivery in 6 to 8 weeks!

 

On Wednesday I went to dinner at Mahony & Son's with Sally which is an Irish pub on campus. I had mushroom marscapone ravioli and it was amazing. So much better than caf food, but then again, it's hard not to be better than caf food! We then went back to Sally's room in Gage, which is an apartment style residence on campus. She's on the 12th floor, so I got to see her views! We booked a multi-activity day tour for our trip to Whitehorse, Yukon. It includes dog-sledding, visiting a wildlife preserve, soaking in the hot springs, and viewing the Northern Lights. We also booked a half-day snowmobiling tour for the next day. I am so unbelievably excited for this trip!!! It's going to be amazing.

 

The past week our building hasn't had proper hot water, so we've had to run across to the all girls house every night just to have a hot shower! Luckily our hot water is now back on though :)

 

On Friday night we went to the men's volleyball game. It was UBC Thunderbirds vs. Regina Cougars. It's the first time I've ever watched a volleyball game and it was fun! UBC won all 3 sets! Woo! There were no hot players though, how disappointing.

 



 

 

 On Saturday night was Vanier's Winter Formal. I had been looking forward to this night for so long! That afternoon we were all just so excited to get ready. I loved getting ready on my floor with all the girls. Everyone shares, helps each other out, and gives advice on what looks good! It had been so long since I dressed up, and I loved it. Everyone looked so gorgeous.







 

 

Kurtis was my date, so we got some photos together too.

 

 

 

We then all went to the caf together. It looked completely different with decorations, balloons, candles, and even an ice sculpture. The food was free, and it was actually pretty good. We got roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gavy, salads, and bread. Then there was also a selection of desserts.





 

Afterwards we went downstairs and took more photos with the girls :)

 

We then went to Casino Night! We got given $10,000 in Place Vanier money, and tickets to write our name on and put into the raffle. You could play poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and bingo. We all played a game of bingo where we had to bet $5000 each, and Clara won! I haven't played that game in so long. We each put quite a few tickets in the raffle, and guess what? I ended up winning! I got to choose my prize from a selection and of course I chose the big box of Lindt Lindor milk chocolates, my favourite :)

 

The night was so much fun. My feet were absolutely killing me by the end of the night because of my super high heels, but I stayed classy and didn't take them off until I got back to my room!

 The next day Kurtis and I travelled to Grouse Mountain again to go ziplining. We were lucky because the weather was absolutely gorgeous! We had booked for 5 lines on the ziplines, but because it's now winter and the extra 2 lines are higher up the mountain, they are now frozen. So we only got to do 3 lines, but that was okay! We had to line up to get a refund for the price difference. The line at guest services was huge and we were worried we wouldn't make it up to the top of Grouse Mountain in time for our scheduled zipline. One of the managers came up to us in line and asked if we were buying tickets. We said no and explained our situation, then he said he can help us and invited us into his office. He got us the refund, reprinted our tickets and told us we were getting a private tour, just us and the guides!

 

We got the skyride to the top of Grouse Mountain. I was so incredibly excited to see snow. I hadn't seen snow in 10 years! I was pretty much like a kid in a candy store. As soon as I saw it I just had to touch it haha.

 

 

 









We went and saw the real life reindeer!

 



 

 Then we went to the flight centre. We signed our waivers, and got suited in our harnesses and helmets. We went with our 2 guides, who were so nice. The first zipline wasn't that long, but it was so much fun. It was the greatest feeling flying like that. People were below you looking up amazed! It was especially awesome, and gorgeous, ziplining in the snow. The second line was a lot longer, steeper, and therefore faster! It was so exhilarating. The third line wasn't as long, but you could pick up momentum and go pretty fast. We went so fast that when we braked on this line, it was too fast on the springs so we bounced back like halfway! Then we had to swing ourselves back to the landing haha. It was soo much fun and we both had a great time. You could not wipe the smile off my face!! Unfortunately we don't have any photos of us ziplining though, sorry guys!

 



 

 We had some lunch and saw really awesome gingerbread houses.

 



 

We then walked around in the snow and I sunk in the snow! It was awesome!

 

Kurtis threw a snowball at my scarf

 



 

I put on my newly purchased ski pants just so I could sit in the snow. Everything looked so gorgeous.

 





 

 

 



 

 

Kurtis wasn't wearing the right shows so he slipped over a few times. It was hilarious.

 

 

We also found a random snowman, and I decided to lay in the snow!

 



 

We went and had some hot chocolate, and watched the sunset. You can see downtown Vancouver and UBC in the distance :)

 

 





 

It was an amazing weekend :)

 

This Tuesday night we went to the Robson Pageant. Robson is one of the all male houses in Vanier. It was like a beauty pageant where they show off to an audience and judges, and then the winner is crowned Mr Robson. A group of us girls went to watch. The audience was pretty much all girls! First they performed the Jingle Bells Rock dance from the movie 'Mean Girls', wearing just boxers, suspenders, and Santa hats. It was so hilarious.

 

 

They then had a casual wear catwalk, and answered questions. They each had to perform their talent. One guy played piano, another recited an original poem, a few sang and played guitar, some danced, and there was also a rap battle. One badly sung and danced to Livin La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin. It was so funny and at one point he threw lots of little bits of paper into the crowd that had his phone number on them! After that, each guy picked a girl from the audience to serenade and dance around on stage. None of us got chosen though! They walked the catwalk again in formal wear. A socially awkward and really adorable guy was named Mr Robson.

 

Today I handed in my last two essays! I just have four final exams to go. Friday is my last day of classes and then I'm leaving for Whistler that afternoon with the Exchange Student Club trip! I'm so excited! Especially to see more snow. I'm going to learn how to ski. I'm kind of nervous about that! I just know I'm going to fall over flat on my face the whole time. My first final exams aren't until next Thursday, and then next weekend is our trip to Whitehorse, Yukon!

 

My time here has gone by so quickly. I only have 3 weeks to go :( but I'm staying positive and making the most of every moment!

 

I love and miss you all so much

 

Love,

Emily